The government should take up long-term planning to solve problems of the country's millions of physically challenged people instead of relying on relief-based approaches, development activists said yesterday.

GDP growth fell by 0.39 percentage point to 6.32 percent in the current fiscal year, compared with the figures for last fiscal year, mainly due to sluggish growth in the agriculture sector, according to the provisional data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Forty-three days into the Tk 70 lakh railwaygate scandal, neither the Anti-Corruption Commission nor the rail's probe body tried to trace the whistleblower, who has been "missing" since the day after the incident.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday once again faced interruptions from the prosecution and some defence lawyers during cross-examination of the second witness in the war crimes case against BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

Former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar had ordered CMP commissioner SM Sabbir Ali not to arrest an NSI official for trying to resist the seizure of a huge cache of guns and ammunition at the CUFL jetty in the wee hours of April 2 in 2004.

Members of Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum boycotted all the judges' and magistrates' courts in the capital yesterday protesting a Dhaka court order on Monday sending BNP lawmaker Mahbub Uddin Khokon to jail in an arson attack case.

A smuggling case was lodged with a Chittagong police station early yesterday against the 23 people who had been arrested Sunday night in connection with hauling of state-owned furnace oil for black market at Anu Majhir Ghat by the river Karnaphuli.

A probe body investigating recruitment irregularities in the railway's east zone yesterday submitted its report to the railway DG accusing more than 20 people for their involvement in manipulating the recruitment process.

Greece's exit from the eurozone risks causing an "unpredictable" spread of the debt crisis, a scenario which France will work to avoid at all cost, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said yesterday.

Editorial

As stress on artificial fibres as a packaging material in preference to natural ones is growing, the prospects for jute, popularly known as the Golden Fibre, are opening up further. The International Jute Study Group (IJSG) based in Dhaka recently also echoed this view.

There is little doubt in the public mind of the need to do something on the constant attack by unscrupulous business interests on constricting, redirecting and filling up of public water bodies, rivers and canals for profit. In an effort to halt such malpractices, the cabinet has approved a draft bill Bangladesh Water Act, 2012 that promises to put in place a series of checks and balances aimed at halting misuse of said resources. While it is commendable to see that the government has finally taken heed of decades of outcry by affected communities, environmentalists and water experts, it will be interesting to see whether the stringent provisions proposed in the Act, such as, five years' imprisonment or a fine of Tk. 5 million will actually be enforced with due diligence in reality. Reasons for disruption of natural flow of water and pollution are well known, but we often overlook the disastrous effects such wilful trespassing have on the natural state of affairs. Whether it is pollution or obstruction of natural flow of water, there is no denying that manmade interventions have helped bring about ecological disaster to entire communities of people who depend on these water resources for their livelihoods.

Mohammedan Sporting Club brought down high-flying Abahani with a 2-0 defeat on their perennial rivals in their Grameenphone Bangladesh Premier League champions at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Despite a series of meetings the last three days, the two panels in the upcoming Bangladesh Chess Federation polls have failed to reach a consensus which means the two panels will fight it out as they are. A few of the candidates, who had earlier submitted two nominations each, have withdrawn one of their nominations on the last day of withdrawal yesterday.

The First South Asian Special Olympics 5-a-side Football Tournament was inaugurated yesterday at the Army Stadium with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declaring the five-team tournament open as chief guest.

Narail District team and Dinajpur Municipal School will face off in the final of the UCB First Women's Hockey Tournament after they beat their respective rivals in the semifinals at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

The newly-laid astro-turf at the Bhalur math adjacent to the Bangladesh Football Federation house will be opened for play through a friendly match between traditional foes Abahani and Mohammedan on May 31.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said on Monday he wanted to see headlines only about what volatile Italian striker Mario Balotelli did on the pitch and not off it during next month's European Championship.

Ivory Coast great Didier Drogba has told his Chelsea team-mates he is leaving the newly-crowned Champions League winners because he doesn't fancy spending time on the substitutes bench, France Football said Monday.

The High Court yesterday asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to reply within one month to a bank director who sought more time to comply with the rules of holding at least 2 percent stakes in his company.

Japanese entrepreneurs will invest $400 million in Bangladesh to enhance capacity in the energy sector, said the visiting chief representative of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) yesterday.

Metropolitan

The government has embarked on preparing a fifty to hundred years' long "Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100" to deal with issues like climate change, water resources management, river dredging and construction of embankment in a coordinated manner.

The Power Development Board (PDB) in Chittagong yesterday took possession of 246.99 acres of government land in Anwara upazila that was under the custody of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), who had leased it out to two private companies.

The governing body of Proshika, formed following the removal of the then chairman Qazi Faruque Ahmed, at a press conference claimed itself as the present legitimate authority of the NGO as per the judgment of the highest court.

Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday urged all to forge unity against the prevailing “sick politics”, as, he said, the country had fallen into a deep crisis due to ineffective parliament, hartal, forced disappearances and murders.

The defence of Delawar Hossain Sayedee yesterday prayed to the International Crimes Tribunal-1 to review its decision of taking the statements of 15 witnesses given to the investigation officer as evidence against the Jamaat leader.

The High Court yesterday directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to immediately launch a thorough investigation to find out whether there was any corruption in the process of allotting plots in the capital's Begunbari-Hatirjheel area.

Accusing the government of influencing the court, BNP leaders yesterday said the government will be defeated through mass upsurge and its policy to weaken the opposition through arresting their leaders will be boomerang soon.

National Professor MR Khan yesterday urged the government to formulate a national guideline to bring children under tetanus vaccination coverage as many people, including children, die from tetanus infection every year.

Indian Law Minister Salman Khurshid will arrive in Dhaka tomorrow (Thursday) on a four-day visit to join the joint celebrations by Bangladesh and India of the 113th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and to mark the 90th anniversary of the publication of “Bidrohi”.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and its stakeholders held a meeting with the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police, Md Nowsher Ali, of Chittagong range yesterday morning at the range office conference room.

Local journalists yesterday staged a demonstration demanding immediate arrest and punishment of the criminals who injured the daily Samakal reporter ABM Fazlur Rahman on the Edward College campus on Saturday.

Doctors of Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) yesterday went on an indefinite strike to press home their three-point demand including arrest of those who vandalised the hospital and assaulted some doctors following death of a patient on Sunday.

Journalists of all 12 upazilas under the district submitted memorandum to the home minister through the respective upazila nirbahi officers yesterday protesting 'false implication' of Abdullah Al Mamun Biplob, Gafargaon upazila correspondent of the daily Samakal, in a case filed with Gafargaon police station.

Letters

The government has taken an exemplary initiative by creating the "Climate Change Trust Fund" to address and combat the impacts of climate change on our environment and livelihood. However, the CCTF falls short of the activities related to biodiversity conservation at the ground level. Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of biological resources is in the forefront of most of the government documents produced and in the negotiations with the donors. But we who are working for biodiversity conservation for several decades now see little of the financial resources being directed to enforcement and implementation of biodiversity conservation initiatives at the ground level, most of the initiatives are just paper works and to attract the donors.

No doubt, forming the SAARC Food Bank Board is a good initiative because no South Asian nation is capable of ensuring food security on its own. Every member country randomly faces volatility of food prices every now and then. Naturally, people of this region expect that the SAARC Food Bank would help significantly to stabilise the South Asian region's food market. So cooperation among the nations is a must to cope with food crisis, whenever it occurs.

Messi has won the heart of millions by his football magic. He has been nominated best footballer of the year by the FIFA three times at a stretch and has pocketed a lot of other international records. My respect and support for Messi increased when he extended his helping hands for saving the life of Walid Kasas, a young footballer of Morocco. Kasas, a twelve-year-old boy, is suffering from a kind of hormonal problem which requires a long term and expensive treatment. A relative of Kasas then made an appeal to Messi for financial help to save the helpless boy. Messi readily agreed and declared that he would bear the expenditure of his treatment for the next six years so that Kasas can bounce back. It is interesting to note that this great footballer Messi was also suffering from the same disease in his boyhood. It is fabulous that overcoming this physical hurdle he has become the world's best footballer. May be Kasas would also be a great footballer like Messi in the future. However, the philanthropic response of Messi has drawn our attention. Other celebrities and rich people can also learn this great virtue from him and extend their helping hands for humanity. My heartfelt wishes for him. I also pray for Kasas' quick recovery.

Indeed it is too late to formulate biosafety rules in our country. But we hope the government would show its utmost sincerity to protect the consumers' rights. Considering the country's demand and socioeconomic condition, we must formulate the rules. Government must ensure the conservation of our local variety and indigenous genetic resources, so that our farmers become self-sufficient and also can produce environment friendly food for sustainable agriculture.

The system of conducting the parliamentary election under a caretaker government (CG) had to be reintroduced because of the demand and subsequent political pressure from Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League in the past. And now it is Sheikh Hasina who is branding this system as undemocratic.

As days are passing, the hope for a dialogue over caretaker government is vanishing as the government has taken a rigid stance against it. The other day Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina dismissed the idea outright calling the system a 'danob' meaning a 'monster' and declared that people do not want to see it again.

Last month I was travelling to Rajshahi to conduct a training programme and thought of travelling by train as I didn't have a train journey for a long time. Besides, I came across this piece of news that train journey is getting better and more comfortable day by day which, in fact, got me interested. It was Rajshahi bound Silk City Express leaving Kamalapur at 2.40 pm. My wife and I took the window side seats in the AC compartment with a desire to enjoy the scenic beauty of the countryside. But, poor us, the window pane was cracked and filled with water in between. That really upset us at the outset. And then, to worsen the situation, small size cockroaches jumped on our lap getting out from different holes. And during the whole journey we were busy sweeping them away using a newspaper. Couple of months back, I hired one pest control team to get rid of cockroaches at our Dhaka residence and at that time I came to know that these small sized cockroaches are called German cockroaches which are more or less one cm in size.

International

Nato put on a brave face at its Chicago summit but the reality is that the alliance has been weakened by the euro zone crisis and faces an identity crisis about what its role will be once it ends its intervention in Afghanistan in 2014.

NCP leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, who is being backed by BJD and AIADMK for the President's post, yesterday sought to reach out to political parties, saying he hoped they will respond "to the call of conscience of the tribal people of the nation."

At least eleven people were killed and more than 30 people wounded as violence erupted in Karachi after unidentified armed assailants opened fire at a political rally in the provincial capital yesterday, DawnNews reported.

Arts & Entertainment

As every year, there has been a rush of visitors to the two Nazrul Smriti Kendra (memorial centres) at Kazir Shimla village and Darirampur in Trishal just ahead of the birth anniversary of the National Poet.

International Centre for Nazrul (ICNAZRUL) held its soft launch on May 19 at Radius Centre, Bay's Galleria in Gulshan 1, Dhaka, according to a press release. Commemorating the historic 90th anniversary of Nazrul's poem “Bidrohi”, the event announced the formation of ICNAZRUL, an initiative of AKK Foundation, which is dedicated to generating interest in the life and works of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam among the general public and international community. The soft launch brought together a select group of guests and representatives from USA, Turkey, Japan and the local community, who will forge a collaborative network to formally launch ICNAZRUL and the 1st ICNAZRUL International Symposium in Dhaka in February 2013.

Galleri Kaya will organise a solo art exhibition titled “Watercolours & Sculptures”, featuring the works of noted sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan. The exhibition will begin on May 24. Around seventy watercolours, ten sculptures (bronze) as well as ten paintings (acrylic on canvas) will be on display at the exhibition. The exhibition will continue till June 6.

What are the internal policies of a militant group, or what exactly is the way to achieve power -- theatre troupe Tirandaj's debut production “Onoitihashik” tries to explore these ideas. Based on bold writings of Humayun Azad -- “Pak Sar Zamin Shad Baad” and “Amar Obishshash”, the play is an experimental production directed by Deepak Suman [of Aranyak Natyadal].

TV serial “Radio Chocolate” is aired regularly -- from Tuesday to Thursday at 8:15 -- on Desh TV. Based on an Anisul Haque story, Redwan Rony has adapted and directed the TV serial. The presentation of the complex equations of life on a humorous note is at the heart of the story.

As the world gets smaller and more connected every day, Cuba remains isolated and repressed, mired in poverty and outdated technology. It's no wonder that the country is responsible for some of the angriest, most extreme metal on Earth.

OP-ED

I have in recent times watched Hillary Clinton respond to young people's questions on Barkha Dutt's programme in Kolkata. I was impressed with the quality of the questions that were placed before the US secretary of state, for they were tough and relevant and were a demonstration of the level of knowledge India's young have about America and its policies in the geo-political context. It took Clinton quite some time and quite some thinking before she could respond to those questions. On a question related to American pressure on Iran regarding Tehran's alleged nuclear programme, a young woman asked the secretary why Washington was not applying similar pressure on Israel. Clinton fumbled, before going on and on about why Iran needed to be given the harsh treatment. She remained evasive about Israel.

The biggest-ever Nato summit opened in Chicago on Sunday and brought representatives of around 60 countries and international organisations together to discuss Afghanistan, future capabilities and strengthening of its cooperation with non-members.

On May 5, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni and the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signed a Joint Declaration on "Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue," which was witnessed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Why have some countries in Asia remained poor, while countries such as South Korea, which had once been poor, has successfully increased the incomes of the general population? Or why is an average European seven times as prosperous as the average Mexican, or twenty times as prosperous as the average inhabitant of sub-Saharan Africa? Why do some counties prosper while others fall behind?